Railway Pension Investments Ltd Sells 1,100 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,741 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned 0.07% of KLA worth $64,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after buying an additional 76,226 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after purchasing an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $720,936,000 after purchasing an additional 211,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $59.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $696.17. 2,071,281 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,510. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $93.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $808.65 and its 200 day moving average is $722.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB, Display and Component Inspection.